The Black Promise
General The Black Promise (also sometimes known as Sleeping Spirit, or Quiet Spirit) is a mystical Black Blade handed down through the Hokaru family of kitsune. It is currently wielded by Redwind Hokaru, but has had a long history, dating back several hundred years. Description The Black Promise is a katana-style Black Blade. True to the name, when wielded by it's owner the blade takes on a black, almost obsidian like quality to it. However, when held by those without Hokaru blood, the weapon appears to be well-wrought metal, as any other katana might be. The Tsuba, or Guard, is carved black obsidian, and is square shaped with rounded edges. The characters "Black" and "Promise" are ornately carved into the obsidian on either side of the blade, with spaces in the characters being entirely carved out in some places. The Tsuka or handle, is wrapped in black leather over ivory, with a dark red ruby carved into the shape of a fox's head on the end as the Menuki, or ornament. The blade itself is immensely sharp, and even in the hands of a normal person, the balance and weight are perfect. Mechanics In the hands of normal people, Black Promise functions as a masterwork katana. A member of the Hokaru bloodline, can activate the sword either through the Sorcerer (Kitsune) Bloodline, or the Magus (Blackblade) archetype. In such cases, the blade begins as a +1 katana, and provides the following special power: - When indirectly protecting a human, the sword grants its wielder the effects of Heroism, for the duration of the danger, and 1d4 minutes after. - When directly protecting a human, the sword grants its wielder the effects of Greater Heroism for the duration of the danger. As the wielder grows in power, the blade gains the following special abilities as the enchantment bonus on it grows. +1 Keen Katana (+2 bonus overall) +1 Keen, Defending Katana (+3 bonus overall) +2 Keen, Defending Katana (+4 bonus overall) +3 Keen, Defending Katana (+5 bonus overall) History The blade is said to have been created as a gift for Haruka Hokaru, the founder of the Hokaru tribe and bloodline, from the Emperor of Lung Wa, Emperor Long Ruen, in the year 7013 of the Imperial Calendar (4513 AR). This was said to be a reward from the Emperor to Hokaru for having saved one of the Emperor's sons a year and a half before. At the time, Hokaru had refused any sort of payment or reward, and when the emperor heard news of this he commissioned a great sword be made for the hero. Court records from the time show that Black Promise was the sword eventually provided to Haruka Hokaru, In addition, he was formally offered a position as head guard to the prince he had previously protected. Since then, the sword has been handed down through successive generations of Hokaru men, having skipped only one generation; that of Redwind's father. While substantial evidence exists to support that Black Promise was indeed gifted to Haruka Hokaru, there is some speculation that the sword was not in fact made for him. Several swordsmiths hired by the emperor of the time made mention of the near impossibility of creating a weapon that satisfied the emperor's demands, and there was rumors at the time of secret expeditions sent by the emperor to locate a magical weapon that was suitable for the gift the emperor wished to give. Officially, the sword was finally crafted by a little-known swordsmith named Gao Shi, brought in from the edge of the Western Provinces. After presenting the sword to the emperor, Gao Shi was quickly and quietly returned to his home. However, some scholars of Tien history and myth suggest that the blade may in fact be one of the Eight Legendary Gifts provided to Lady Asange, the mythical mother of the Kitsune. If this is true, the item is indeed of legendary value, and may have further secrets not yet revealed to the Hokaru bloodline.